April turns to May, and leaves a parting gift of apple blossom
Read moreDay 119: Geranium phaeum
Geranium phaeum is a delightful plant with a host of rather sombre common names – dusky cranesbill, mourning widow, or black widow…
Read moreDay 118: garlic mustard
Few plants grow with such a vibrant, verdant energy as garlic mustard, or Jack in the Hedge (Alliaria petiolata) in spring…
Read moreDay 117: tulip fire
The closest I want to get to fire in my tulips are the bold markings on the fabulous petals of the viridiflora variety, ‘Flaming Spring Green’ …
Read moreDay 116: bluebell woods
There’s enough going on in the world today to make any self-respecting human more than a little uncomfortable about proclaiming the superiority of the native English bluebell…
Read moreDay 115: shuttlecock fern
Some ferns lend their lush greenery to the garden all year round, while others will deprive you of their company over winter. This latter group appear with many a languid gesture throughout spring, in the full knowledge that we’re looking upon the unveiling ceremony with wrapt admiration…
Read moreDay 114: forget-me-nots and tulips
Forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica) must rank high on the list of glorious self-seeders of which the over-zealous garden tidier might inadvertently deprive themselves…
Read moreDay 113: old brick and yew
I want to take one last look at some of the details and textures that help to create the underlying structure in our gardens, before they disappear under a froth of exuberant flowers and foliage from now till November…
Read moreDay 112: honesty
The cabbage family must be a good-natured clan. Have you noticed that so many of their flowers seem to have twinkly little eyes, set among a profusion of laughter lines?
Read moreDay 111: dog's mercury
This is Dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis). Fond of shady glades, it appears in early spring often in the company of new hellebore leaves, which it attempts rather sneakily to mimic…
Read moreDay 110: Primula 'Blue Sapphire'
Day 109: Paeonia mlokosowitschii
You know that annoying thing when people from different ethnic backgrounds end up getting called ‘Fred’ because no one can be bothered to pronounce their name correctly? It happens to plants too…
Read moreDay 108: a place to sit
Seating is one of the most overlooked aspects of the garden. I’m not talking about deckchairs and sun loungers, nor even patio furniture – that’s all very well and purpose-specific…
Read moreDay 107: Euphorbia polychroma
There is probably a spurge for every occasion in the garden – indoors too, for that matter, when you consider that the poinsettia is a member of the Euphorbia clan…
Read moreDay 106: wallflowers
Wallflowers are one of the plants I remember from my childhood – rows of deep oranges, yellow and reds along the garden path, and that gorgeous scent that fills the whole garden.
Read moreDay 105: amelanchier light
We are lucky to have a back garden that faces west. This came about by the happiest of accidents – it certainly wasn’t on our house-hunting criteria – but it means that we get to enjoy the evening light as the sun slips below the horizon…
Read moreThe Gardens, weeds & words podcast, Series 1 Episode 9
Gardening has something to offer everyone – but there’s a danger it can come across either as a slightly exclusive club with its own language, or even an irrelevance. I’m joined by Sara Venn, the woman behind Incredible Edible Bristol, to talk about access, representation, and just who gardening is for.
Read moreDay 104: fern unfurling
I don’t care what you think you’ve achieved; if you’ve not sat and gazed at a fern unfurling, you’ve not yet lived…
Read moreDay 103: Dead wood
We felled a young ash sapling last weekend that had shot up with indecent speed in a corner of the garden. Most of its wood will be bound for the log store, but some will stay at the back of the plot…
Read moreDay 102: snake's-head fritillary
I come over all unnecessary when the snake’s-head fritillaries (Fritillaria meleagris) are out – the white variety is charming, but you really need the contrast of the darker purple to appreciate the chequered markings to the fullest extent…
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